D2 from Start the Wave - Sissy: A Coming of Gender Story by Jacob Tobia

Big Queer Book Club Podcast

The wait is finally over. This is part two of our episode with D2 from Start the Wave, and in the second half we get a bit more introspective in how this book affected us personally. We always have a great time talking to D2, no matter the subject. After you've finished this book please join us in checking out the Start the Wave pride resource list, as it is filled with many important and incredible books. We are slowly making our way through all of them. Also follow Start the Wave on Instagram and at Startthewave.org to see all the incredibly amazing waves of positive change they are creating.
As a young child in North Carolina, Jacob Tobia wasn't the wrong gender, they just had too much of the stuff. Barbies? Yes. Playing with bugs? Absolutely. Getting muddy? Please. Princess dresses? You betcha. Jacob wanted it all, but because they were "a boy," they were told they could only have the masculine half. Acting feminine labelled them "a sissy" and brought social isolation.
It took Jacob years to discover that being "a sissy" isn't something to be ashamed of. It's a source of pride. Following Jacob through bullying and beauty contests, from Duke University to the United Nations to the podiums of the Methodist church--not to mention the parlors of the White House--this unforgettable memoir contains multitudes. A deeply personal story of trauma and healing, a powerful reflection on gender and self-acceptance, and a hilarious guidebook for wearing tacky clip-on earrings in today's world, Sissy guarantees you'll never think about gender--both other people's and your own--the same way again.